Tribal Colleges and Universities Program

This program provides awards to enhance the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and outreach programs at Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-serving Institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions. Support is available for the implementation of comprehensive institutional approaches to strengthen STEM teaching and learning in ways that improve access to, retention within, and graduation from STEM programs. Through this program, assistance is provided to eligible institutions in their efforts to bridge the digital divide and prepare students for careers in information technology, science, mathematics and engineering fields. Proposed activities should be the result of a careful analysis of institutional needs, address institutional and NSF goals, and have the potential to result in significant and sustainable improvements in STEM program offerings. Proposals are being solicited for Planning Grants, and three Implementation tracks: Initiation projects, STEM Teachers of Education Excellence Projects (STEEP), and TCUP Pre-Engineering Education Collaboratives (PEEC). Innovation through Institutional Integration (I^3) projects enable faculty, administrators, and others in institutions to think and act strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards, with particular emphasis on awards managed through programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), but not limited to those awards. For Fiscal Year 2010, proposals are being solicited in nine EHR programs that advance I^3 goals: CREST, GSE, HBCU-UP, ITEST, LSAMP, MSP, Noyce, RDE, and TCUP.